Smart card for use with electronic pocket pillbox

ABSTRACT

A multi-compartment electronic pocket pillbox includes a microprocessor for loading prescription data into a memory. A circuit controls a display. A flag for each compartment indicates the compartment to be used. Coded prescription data contained in a detachable data medium are loaded into the memory. Each compartment has a pill dispenser adaptable to pharmaceuticals of different forms and various sizes. An automatic controller associated with each compartment controls medication movement from the compartment. Switches determine the compartment from which pills are withdrawn.

This application is a divisional of application Ser. No. 09/041,813,filed Mar. 12, 1998, now U.S. Pat. 6,048,087.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a multi-compartment, electronic pocketpillbox and more particularly, to a pillbox having a memory loaded withprescription data from an external source.

BACKGROUND ART

A multi-compartment, electronic pillbox is already known from the Frenchpatent 2,650,426, wherein a substantially large case comprises severaldrawers and electronic circuitry with a timing program for controllingthe taking of medications by triggering an alarm to signal a patient topress a button to open the drawers. This kind of device provides theinformation that the patient pushed the button for his medications.However, it has the drawback of bulk and does not signal whichmedications were taken. Furthermore, the electronic circuitry can beprogrammed only at the pillbox site. Such programming allows data inputonly in a consecutive manner, first entering the time, then the name ofthe medication (which is displayed on a screen) and the dosages.

European patent 0,298,627 discloses a pillbox having a given number ofcompartments, a programming clock and flagging by an indicator of thecompartment from which the patient must take his medication. An enablingswitch indicates that the medication was taken. Pushing the enablingswitch causes storing of the time, date, and identity of medicationtaken. Programming is manual and requires a large number of steps by apharmacist. While a bar-code reader can be present at the side of thedevice to enter certain data by read in, other data still must beentered manually. Also, this device sometimes implies that the patientpushed a button associated with a compartment holding medication to betaken, but it does not offer the assurance that a tablet or capsule wasactually taken from the compartment.

French patent 2,599,252 discloses a portable indicator showing, on ascreen, the number of medications, the dosages and the times when thepatient is to take the medications. This device is portable andprogrammed by a personal computer connected to the portable device.However, the device of the '252 patent is not a pillbox and can notdispense pills or capsules at desired times, or detect if the pills orcapsules have been dispensed.

French patent 2,692,689 discloses a medical-help procedure including adetachable data medium for loading an operational program into a medicaldevice, such as dialysis equipment, sphygmomanometers, glucometers andweighing scales. The operational program checks the operation of themedical device.

European patent 0,554,137 discloses a pocket-type medication dispensercomprising a loader and an optical system for detecting movement ofdispensed medication. However, this pocket dispenser is restricted todispensing a single medication per loader and cannot be used to dispenseseveral medications. Moreover, detection by light-emitting diodes (LEDs)and photocells mounted on the opposite sides relative to a path of thetablets and capsules requires two electric wires for each pilldispensing path to power the LED and the photocell. In this design, apocket pillbox having six compartments that dispense differentmedications would require merely to detect medication transit, hookingup a dozen wires to six compartments.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A first object of the invention is to provide a new and improvedmulti-compartment pillbox for which the data relating to the medicationsand dosages and to the times of ingestion are entered in a manner otherthan by (1) keypad, (2) manual input means or (3) a programmingterminal.

This object is attained with a multi-compartment pocket electronicpillbox having a microprocessor electronic circuit controlling a memorystoring a prescription, a control circuit for a display, indicators forthe compartment to use, circuitry for loading into the memory datacontained in a detachable data medium and including the codedprescription, a pill dispensing unit adaptable to various pharmaceuticalforms and sizes, a detector at each compartment for automaticallydetecting the movement of a pill and a detector for automaticallyascertaining from which compartment the pill was withdrawn.

Another objective is to provide a new and improved pillbox for checkingthat a pill indeed was dispensed.

This objective is attained with a compartmented electronic pocketpillbox having a detector for pills as they are withdrawn from acompartment and a counter for counting the number of pills remaining inthe compartment.

In another feature of the invention, the pillbox circuitry senses pillemergency withdrawal and stores indications thereof in a memory file.

In yet another feature of the invention, integrated electronic circuitryin the pillbox includes a microprocessor and a liquid crystal display.

In still another feature of the invention, the compartments areremovable and include connectors connected to the integrated circuit forcontrolling pillbox operation and a pillbox integrity checkingarrangement.

Another feature of the invention concerns ascertaining the number ofcompartments.

In another feature, a detector detects the presence and absence of thedetachable data medium in the pillbox.

In another feature, the detachable data medium is a card having a sizeand shape enabling it to be inserted into and removed from the pillboxand includes a microprocessor chip and a programmable non-volatilememory.

In another feature, a sensor for the movement of the pill from eachremovable compartment includes a switch actuated by the moving pill.

In another feature, the presence of the compartments in the pillbox isdetermined by a circuit including a resistor associated with eachcompartment. The resistors are series-connected to an analog-digitalconverter and by a button-controlled switch driving the dispenser ofeach compartment. Each switch has a first terminal connected between atap of a resistive voltage divider and a second terminal connected to aDC power supply terminal.

In another feature, the microprocessor detects and records the patient'sexecution of the prescription, the emergency medication withdrawals andpillbox operational disturbances.

In another feature, the microprocessor program manages data exchangeswith the detachable data medium so the prescription memory is loadedwhile implementing pillbox integrity and data indicative of execution oftreatment and emergency medication withdrawals are loaded into thedetachable data medium.

In another feature, storage of treatment execution and emergencymedication withdrawals is carried out when the prescription is detectedas being completed.

In another feature, the storage of treatment execution and emergencymedication withdrawals is carried out each time a dispensing switch isactivated.

Another object of the invention is to provide a new and improvedelectronic pillbox having a restricted number of electrical connections.

This objective is attained by electrically connecting an integratedcircuit to each compartment fitted with a medication dispensingmechanism, wherein the compartments comprise a detector for actuation ofthe pill dispensers. The actuation detectors include switches driven bya button actuating the dispenser of each compartment. The switch of eachcompartment is connected between a resistor associated with theparticular compartment and the electric circuit power supply. Eachcompartment resistor is in series with that of the following compartmentand connected by an additional resistor to the input of ananalog-digital converter having an output indicative of compartmentidentity as a function of the amplitude of the analog signal supplied tothe converter.

The above and still further objects, features and advantages of thepresent invention will become apparent upon consideration of thefollowing detailed description of the specific embodiment thereof,especially when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a preferred embodiment of an electroniccircuit included in the pillbox of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a topview of the pillbox display;

FIG. 3a is a schematic view of an assembled pocket pillbox including thecircuit of FIG. 1 and display of FIG. 2;

FIG. 3b is a schematic diagram of an arrangement for detecting pressureon a dispensing button of the pillbox; and

FIG. 3c is a schematic diagram of an arrangement for detectingmedication transit through the pillbox of FIG. 3c.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

As shown in FIG. 3A, a modular pocket pillbox including an electroniccircuit comprises a given number of detachable modular compartments fordispensing medications, e.g., pills, having different geometries andsizes; pillbox 2 is illustrated for convenience as including threeside-by-side identical compartments 4, 5 and 6; the number ofcompartments is usually matched to the number of different medicationstaken by the pillbox possessor. In the preferred embodiment discussed inconnection with FIGS. 1 and 2, there are five compartments. Furtherdetails of pillbox 2 are disclosed in the co-pending U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 09/04/448 “Modular Pocket Medication Dispenser”filed Mar. 12, 1998, the subject matter of which is incorporated hereinby reference. Each of compartments 4, 5 and 6 contains a number of pillsas disclosed in the co-pending application. Upon actuation of dispensingbuttons 11, 12, 13, the pills in compartments 4, 5 and 6, respectivelymove through pivoting doors 14, 15, 16 (FIG. 3c) into a holding space inthe pillbox.

As shown in FIG. 3b, pressing dispensing button 11, 12, 13 of modularcompartments 4, 5, 6 of pillbox 2 of FIG. 3a causes closure of a switchbcmi for the driven module; in FIG. 1, five bcmi switches are shown asswitches bcmi through bcm5. The button 11, 12, 13 of the drivencompartment mechanically causes an associated door 14, 15, 16 to rotate;doors 14, 15 and 16 are sized so that the capsule, i.e., pill, 20slightly projects outside the outer contour 140, 150, 160 (FIG. 3c) ofdoors 14, 15, 16 and actuates the movable contact 79 of a microswitchcpmi of the modular compartment. Contact 79 thereby detects movement ofeach pill 20 through each door 14, 15, 16 from compartments 4, 5, 6. Afirst stationary contact of each of medication-transit detectingmicroswitches cmp1 through cpm5 (FIG. 1) is electrically connected inparallel with the other first contacts so one first contact of eachmicroswitch is connected to DC supply voltage Vdd. The second stationaryterminal of each microswitch cpmi is connected through a first resistor78 a to medication transit interrupt input IPM of microprocessor 1,preferably a PIC 16 Fc 74 available from Microchip Co. Movable contactsof microswitches cpm1-cpm5 connect the respective first and secondstationary contacts of the microswitches together in response to a pill20 moving through doors 14, 15, 16 as a result of the mechanismillustrated in FIG. 3c. A grounded, smoothing shunt capacitor 78 b isconnected between the parallel-connected second stationary contact ofmicroswitches cpm1-cpm5 and resistor 78 a, connected in series betweenthe second stationary contacts and input IPM. Resistor 78 c is connectedin parallel with the capacitor 78 b. In this manner, using a singleinterrupt line connected to interrupt input IPM of microprocessor 1, themicroprocessor detects movement of pills 20 from each compartment 4, 5and 6 of pillbox 2.

The switch bcmi driven by dispensing buttons 11, 12, 13 of compartments4, 5, 6 allows the system to identify, by means of the circuit describedinfra, the particular compartment from which a pill is dispensed. Afirst stationary terminal of each of microswitches bcm1-bcm5 isconnected to the DC supply voltage Vdd whereas the other stationaryterminal of each of microswitches bcm1-bcm5 is connected to therespective common tap between two adjacent resistors of a set of sixseries-connected, stacked resistors 71 through 75 and 76 a. Resistor 76a also is connected to a compartment depressing interrupt input IAC ofmicroprocessor 1.

The first resistor 71 of the set of six resistors is connected byresistor 77 a to driven compartment switch identifying interrupt inputICA, which drives analog-to-digital converter CAN of microprocessor 1. Acommon terminal of resistors 71 and 77 a is connected by resistor 77 bto ground. As disclosed in the co-pending application, each pillboxcompartment includes a multi-pin connector. One pin of each connector isconnected by an electric conductor to output port PA of microprocessor1. Ports PA are respectively connected to a separate ungrounded outputresistor 82 a-82 e; resistors 82 a-82 e are respectively connected toground via a separate light emitting diode (LED) 81 a-81 e. The firstLED 81 a is associated with the first pillbox compartment. The cathodeof first LED 81 a therefore need not be connected by a connector tomicroprocessor circuit 1. The pin of each pillbox compartment isconnected to a pin of the next compartment and to a pin of the precedingcompartment by an electric circuit; the pins are in a male and a femaleterminal blocks of each compartment.

The cathodes of the other LEDs 81 b-81 e are each connected by one pinof each of the terminal blocks of every compartment to the associatedcompartment. The other three pins of each terminal block are connectedto the IPM, ICA, IAC inputs of microprocessor 1. Lastly, the eighth pinof each terminal block is connected to an emergency open interrupt inputIOU of microprocessor 1. An IOC input of microprocessor 1 is connectedbetween ground and normally open contacts C1-C5 formed by electricconnections of the male terminal blocks. Each of the circuit elements ofa compartment is connected to the female terminal block of the followingcompartment. Between each male and female connector of each adjacentpair of compartments is connected one of resistors 91 through 95;resistor 95 is connected to the supply voltage Vdd.

The input of emergency open interrupt (IOU) also is connected to ananalog-digital converter, which can be a discrete integrated circuitlocated outside microprocessor 1, or can be implemented as softwareinside the microprocessor. Therefore, for the eight connection terminalsof each modular compartment, a pillbox having five medication dispensingcompartments can be formed.

Pillbox microprocessor 1 interacts with each of the pillbox modularcompartments via interrupt inputs IPM, ICA, IOU and output port PA.Microprocessor 1 also interacts via bus I₂C with a programmablenon-volatile and electronically erasable read only memory (EEPROM) 104and a calendar clock circuit 105 initiating clock interrupts. Clockcircuit 105 is driven by quartz crystal 51. Bus I₂C also is connected bydisplay control circuit 60 to liquid crystal display 61; circuit 60 is,e.g., marketed by Philips as PCF 8566. Bus I₂C is a two-line controlbus, having a first line containing the clock bus and a second linecontaining a digital-data line.

Microprocessor 1 also responds to a signal indicating the presence andabsence of chip card 102, (having the size and shape of a credit card)in holder 54 of pillbox 2. To this end, the circuitry of pillbox 2includes microswitch 25 having a first grounded terminal and a secondterminal connected to an interrupt input IPONC of microprocessor 1.Microswitch 25 is open circuited and closed when chip card 102 isrespectively absent from and in housing 54 of pillbox 2. Chip card 102is a plastic sheet carrying microprocessor 20 connected by internal bus26 to non-volatile read-only memory (ROM) 21, random access memory (RAM)22, and to electronically erasable programmable non-volatile read-onlymemory (EEPROM) 23. As described in applicants' co-pending application,filed Mar. 12, 1998 entitled “A Method of Forming an Electronic PocketPillbox and Prescription Writing Apparatus Used in the Method” Ser. No.09/04/822, incorporated by reference herein, EEPROM 23 is programmed bya physician with prescription data which are transferred from EEPROM 23to microprocessor 1 under the control of a pharmacist. Internal bus 26is connected to terminal board 24 which couples via an electricconnector on the chip card the input-output data signals (I/O) , theclock signal (CLK), reset-to-zero signal (RSI) and the chip card DCpower supply voltage (Vcc). These signals and supply voltage are coupledto board 24 from chip card interface circuit 3 in pillbox 2. Interfacecircuit is preferably of the type sold by Philips as TDA8002A. Interfacecircuit 3 communicates with microprocessor 1 of pillbox 2 through fourlines, viz.: a first line 30 connected to the microprocessor 1input/output line, a second line 31 enabling the interface circuitoperational mode to be determined, a third line 32 enabling card 102 tobe reinitialized and a fourth line 33 for controlling the supply voltageVcc applied to the card to allow voltage Vcc to be rapidly switched offwhen card 102 is withdrawn from housing 54 in pillbox 2.

Lastly, microprocessor 1 of pillbox 2 controls a sound-emitting element83, e.g., a vibrator, for selectively emitting a sound audible by aperson carrying or close to pillbox 2.

The memory of microprocessor 1 of the pillbox 2 includes a managementprogram for (1) the interrupts IPM, IAC, IOU and IC, (2) signalling whenthe pillbox user is to take a pill, and (3) signalling movement of apill from the compartments. When chip card 102 is put in place in holder54 and pillbox 2, microprocessor 1 also carries out a management programto cause a data exchange between the microprocessor 1 and chip card 102so that when the chip card is initially put in place, the data stored inthe chip-card programmable memory 23 are transferred to the pillboxEEPROM 4, which functions as a prescription memory. When the programcarried out by the pillbox microprocessor detects that the patient hastaken all of the pills of a particular prescription, the pillbox writeprogram causes transfer of pillbox prescription data stored in EEPROM104 to card programmable memory 23.

Microprocessor 1 of the pillbox 2 comprises a last program for managingLCD 61 that includes icons 611-614, numeric elements 615, and threealpha characters 616, FIG. 2. Icons 611, one of which is provided foreach of the five different pillbox pill compartments, when activated,visually signal the numeral associated with the compartment. When one oficons 611 is activated, the number associated with the icon signals thatthe compartment corresponding to the displayed number has no pillslocated in it, i.e., is empty. Icons 612, are ordinarily not displayedso they normally appear dark on the screen. When microprocessor 1activates icons 612 so a particular icon 612 has a dark color, thepillbox user is advised of the need to take a pill in the compartmentassociated with the illuminated number to take medications. Icon 613,when activated, indicates the presence of chip card 102 in pillbox 2.Icon 614, when activated, signals a substantial voltage drop in thesupply voltage Vdd from its nominal value. If, for example, Vdd isnormally 6.0 v, icon 614 is illuminated when Vdd is less than 4.4 v tosignal the need to change the battery. Numeric and alpha zones 615, 616respectively display the time and error messages that advise the pillboxuser of anomalous operation.

In operation and once the various pillbox compartments have beenmechanically and electrically connected and chip card 102 has beeninserted into holder 54 in pillbox 2, the pillbox electronic circuitryis programmed to seek prescription data from EEPROM 23 in chip card 102and to load memory 104 in pillbox 2 with the data about the prescriptionto be taken by the pillbox user. At this time, clock 105 at regular timeintervals produces interrupts to check whether the actual timetransmitted to the pillbox microprocessor 1 by the bus I₂C correspondsto the pill ingestion time supplied by the prescription to memory 104.The prescription loaded into EEPROM 23 of chip card 102 and supplied tothe memory of microprocessor 1 indicates the number of pills to bedispensed from each of the compartments of pillbox 2 at a particulartime and the times when the pills are to be taken by the pillbox user.

If the actual time and stored time when a pill is to be taken are thesame, microprocessor 1 is programmed to (1) read memory 104 to load themicroprocessor with the number of the compartment containing the pill tobe ingested and (2) supply a signal to the corresponding microprocessoroutput PA, causing activating of the LED 81 corresponding to thecompartment from which the user is to take one or more pills.Microprocessor 1 simultaneously actuates vibrator 83. When the pillboxuser sees a blinking LED 81, he pushes the button 11, 12 or 13 of thecorresponding compartment. Pushing the button 11, 12 or 13 correspondingto the lit LED causes closure of the switch bcmi corresponding to thelit LED. In response to one of switches bcmi being closed, interrupt IACis supplied to microprocessor 1 and a DC voltage having a valuecorresponding to the number of the closed switch is supplied via ICA tothe microprocessor analog-to-digital converter CAN.

Analog-digital converter CAN thereby derives a digital output signaldenoting the value of the resistor in series between the converter andthe actuated switch. If the switch bcm5 of the fifth compartment isinvolved, five resistors 71-75 are series connected, whereas if theswitch bcm1 is involved, only a single resistor 71 is connected to theinput of the CAN converter. The different voltage levels at theconverter input and the converter output permit microprocessor 1 toascertain the number of the actuated compartment.

Actuating button bcm4 associated with compartment 4 causes mechanicalrotation of door 14 of the holding space of compartment 4. The pilltriggers closure of switch cpm1 as the pill moves past switch cpm1,provided compartment 4 still contains a pill. This closure of switchcpm1 causes an interrupt to be derived at input IPM of microprocessor 1.

Detection by microprocessor 1 of the two interrupts IAC and IPM in theirconsecutive order causes the microprocessor to monitor the propersequence of pill ingestions and the efficacy of such ingestion. Thepresence of these two interrupts IAC and IPM following an interrupt IHcorresponding to the time of medication ingestion causes microprocessor1 to detect whether the medication was ingested in a time intervalcorresponding to nominal ingestion within an allowable time deviation,for instance, of 15 minutes.

If, for some reason, the pillbox user wishes to carry out an emergencypill ingestion, he can press the button bcmi of the compartmentcontaining the desired pill. In such an instance, the use of thecompartment as well as movement of the pill is recorded as an emergencywithdrawal because the withdrawal was not performed within a timeinterval corresponding to the time-latitude of ingestion.

The program sensing there was no interrupt IH in a prior or subsequenttime interval to medication-withdrawal for the compartment correspondingto the withdrawal comes to the above conclusion. Since removal of eachpill from each compartment is detected, it is possible, using anappropriate program to count down the withdrawn pills and to count downin memory 104 a count initially loaded into the memory 104 indicative ofthe number of pills initially loaded into a particular compartment. Thecount is initially loaded from memory 23 of chip card 102. The count inmemory 104 at any particular time indicates the number of pillsremaining to be ingested in a particular compartment.

The pillbox microprocessor 1 is initially loaded with an operatingprogram managing the interrupts and comprising a read-write modulebetween the pillbox programmable memory 104 and the programmable memory23 of chip card, i.e., detachable data medium, 102.

Detachable data medium 102 has in its memory 23 several files ORDO, FONCand PAT. The ORDO file is organized as a table having the followingfields:

NAME OF FIELD TYPE Prescription # number Date of prescription date/hourCompartment number No. of pills to be removed during number eachdispensing activity No. of daily ingestions number Withdrawal times memo

The FONC file, also organized as a table, has the following fields:

NAME OF FIELD TYPE Prescription # number Name of prescription textNumber of compartment number Date opened date/hour No. of pillsinitially in each number compartment Times opened text

The PAT file corresponding to the patient data, has the followingfields:

NAME OF FIELD TYPE Patient surname text Patient given name text Patientbirth date date/time Patient Social Security Number number Prescription# number Prescription date number Number of treatment days number Nameof physician number and/or text Identity of pillbox number Date ofemergency access date/time Time of emergency access date/time

Optionally a “dosage” file, loaded in EEPROM 23, is transferred tomemory 104 via microprocessor 1.

The pillbox operating program detects the disappearance of the emergencyinterrupt IOU by the closure of the switches c1 through c3 or c4 or c5depending on the number of compartments assembled to form the pillboxallowing delivery of prescribed medications. The last compartment,associated with switch c5, is mechanically and electrically connected tothe remainder of the pillbox to establish an electric connection frominterrupt input IOU to power supply Vdd. When chip card 102 is insertedinto holder 54, switch 25 closes and ground is connected to the IPONCinput of microprocessor 1, erasing the interrupt due to the card notbeing in holder 54.

When microprocessor 1 detects disappearance of interrupts IOU and IPONC,i.e., detects the presence of card 102 in holder 54 and fivecompartments being in pillbox 2, its program carries out a program jump,to read data from EEPROM 23 of detachable medium 102 and write thesedata into programmable memory 104 of pillbox 2.

Therefore, the files ORDO, FONC and PAT are integrally transferred frommemory 23 to memory 104. At the end of the file transfer, the program ofmicroprocessor 1 connects to a clock-interrupt surveillance loop in themicroprocessor that responds to the output of clock 105.

The operational file initially contains no data other than theprescription number, its date and the name of the pills, as well as thecompartment number assigned to the medication. As time and eventsunfold, pillbox 2 updates the “Date Opening” and “Time Opening” fieldsso memory 104 stores the date the pillbox is opened, as well as the timethe medications are taken and the number of pills that were withdrawnfrom the pillbox. Similarly, the PAT file, which initially contains dataof patient surname, given name, date of birth, Social Security number,prescription number and date, number of treatment days, physicianidentity and pillbox identity, has gradually stored in its “emergencyopening date” and emergency opening time“fields data signalsrepresenting the dates and times of emergency openings. When allmedication in the prescription has been dispensed, these data in memory104 are transferred back to EEPROM 23 and are subsequently sent fromEEPROM 23 after the EEPROM has been removed from pillbox 2 so thephysician and/or pharmacist can obtain information about the patient'suse of the prescribed medication.

Lastly, for each clock interrupt caused by updating the time on the LCDdisplay 61, the program also scans the memory 104 addressescorresponding to the fields “time of issuance” for each of themedications loaded into the pillbox in order to (1) determine whetherclock time corresponds to an issuance time and (2) trigger theindicating signal of the compartment corresponding to the channelnumber.

The operations carried out in this manner maximally limit the problemsassociated with programming the pillbox and user-required interfaces.The operations also limit the number of required connections between thedetachable compartments while enabling detection of medications actuallytaken or attempts to take medications even if a particular compartmentno longer holds a pill. The operations also allow sensing prematuredisconnection of the compartments from the rest of the pillbox. This isespecially important for a pocket modular pillbox having a designallowing matching the pillbox to the physician issued prescription andto optimize pillbox size. Moreover, the compartments may be fitted toissue either capsules or tablets of different sizes; the word “pill” isunderstood to be a generic term for both capsules and tablets.

While there has been described and illustrated a specific embodiment ofthe invention, it will be clear that variations in the details of theembodiment specifically illustrated and described may be made withoutdeparting from the true spirit and scope of the invention as defined inthe appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A device for use with an electronic pillboxcomprising a planar electronically insulating sheet sized to fit intothe pillbox, the sheet being removable from the pillbox and including anelectric contact arrangement for connecting to contacts in the pillbox,the sheet including a memory and an internal electric bus for enablingdata signals stored in the memory to be transferred via the contacts toelectronic circuitry in the pillbox, the memory being programmed tocause the electronic circuitry in the pillbox to derive medicationdispensing alarm signals.
 2. The device of claim 1 wherein the memorycomprises at least a first file including at least one field whichdescribes a prescription, a second file including at least one fieldwhich describes a use of the pillbox, and a third file including atleast one field representing patient data.
 3. The device of claim 2wherein the files are transferred to memory of the electronic circuitryby a program of the electronic pillbox when the device is introduced inthe pillbox.
 4. The device of claim 1 further comprising amicroprocessor connected to the bus and the memory, wherein the memoryincludes a non-volatile read-only memory, a random, access memory, andan electronically erasable programmable non-volatile read only memory.5. The device of claim 1 wherein the contact arrangement of the deviceis connected to a terminal board for coupling the device to aninput-output data signal source, a clock source, a reset-to-zero sourceand a DC power supply voltage, the data signal source, clock source andreset-to-zero source being included in an interface circuit of thepillbox.
 6. A device for use with an electronic pillbox comprising aplanar electronic portable object sized to fit into the pillbox, theportable object being removable from the pillbox and including structurefor communicating with the pillbox, the portable object including amicroprocessor, a memory arrangement and an internal electric bus forenabling data signals stored in the memory arrangement to be transferredvia the structure for communicating to electronic circuitry in thepillbox for deriving a medication dispensing alarm signal, the memoryarrangement including a non-volatile read-only memory, a random accessmemory, and an electronically erasable programmable non-volatileread-only memory; the microprocessor being connected to each of thenon-volatile read-only memory, tile random access memory, theelectronically erasable programmable non-volatile read-only memory, andto the bus.
 7. A device for use with an electronic pillbox comprising aplanar electronic portable object sized to fit into the pillbox, theportable object being removable from the pillbox and including structurefor communicating with the pillbox, the portable object including amemory and an internal electric bus for enabling data signals stored inthe memory to be transferred via the structure for communicating toelectronic circuitry in the pillbox for deriving a medication dispensingalarm signal, wherein the structure for communicating includes electriccontacts.
 8. A device for use with an electronic pillbox comprising aplanar electronic portable object sized to fit into the pillbox, theportable object being removable from the pillbox and including structurefor communicating with the pillbox, the portable object including amemory and an internal electric bus for enabling data signals stored inthe memory to be transferred via the structure for communicating toelectronic circuitry in the pillbox for deriving a medication dispensingalarm signal, wherein the memory comprises at least a first fileincluding at least one field which describes a prescription, a secondfile including at least one field which describes a use of the pillbox,and a third file including at least one field representing patient data.9. The device of claim 8 wherein the files are transferred to memory ofthe electronic circuitry by a program of the electronic pillbox when thedevice is introduced in the pillbox.
 10. A device for use with anelectronic pillbox comprising a planar electronic portable object sizedto fit into the pillbox, the portable object being removable from thepillbox and including structure for communicating with the pillbox, theportable object including a memory and all internal electric bus forenabling data signals stored in the memory to be transferred via thestructure for communicating to electronic circuitry in the pillbox forderiving a medication dispensing alarm signal, wherein the structure forcommunicating with the pillbox is connected to a terminal board forcoupling the device to an input-output data signal source, a clocksource, a reset-to-zero source and a DC power supply voltage, the datasignal source, clock source and reset-to-zero source being included inan interface circuit of the pillbox.